Needing info from those who have used Priceline or Hotwire

[EKW]

We stayed at HoJo's during our '05 and '09 trips...and loved it both times. I see there have been big changes there recently...Lorealle is gone, as are the vast majority of their Entertainment rates. Guess we shouldn't have praised them so highly here, as the board at their website says that they no longer need to offer Entertainment rates to fill their rooms. Sigh.

So, what's the news on Priceline and Hotwire. If you've used one of those services in the past 18 months, could you please share your experience...what level of hotel you searched for, what you paid, and where you ended up staying.

I'm still in the "dreaming" phase here...and may end up deciding to bank the money and aim for Disney World next year instead of Disneyland this year. That decision will rely largely on what I learn here.

Thanks!
Beth

p.s. I looked at the Good Neighbor offers on the Disney site and was amazed that most of them wanted more that way than they did on Priceline!

 

[skiingfast]

While you can get a couple suggestions here, you will get a ton of information to help you at www.betterbidding.com.

 

[EKW]

Bumping to give this one more try. I've looked through all the info at the Hotwire and Priceline sites. I've read about the ups and downs. What I am looking for is first-person experience using the sites. It would be very helpful to know what others bid and what hotels accepted those prices.

 

[Lissame]

I attempted to book at hotel last year through Priceline. I used some of the more recent experiences on Better Bidding, but I was never able to get my bid accepted. Maybe the time we were going was just way too popular, I don't know.

I have had the best luck getting good rates by calling around and asking for the best rates, most Good Neighbor hotels have decent AAA rates. Being willing to stay a bit further away takes your price down considerably as well.

 

[PigletSeeker]

We were there April 1-4 and actually stayed in 2 different Priceline hotels. We searched for 3.5 stars in both the Anaheim Disneyland North and South areas. Originally we were only going to stay 2 nights and bid $50/night. We got the Mariott Anaheim Suites. LOVED the rooms for our family- a separate living area apart from the bedroom, so DH and I could watch TV after kids went to bed. Also had a fridge. There was supposed to be an $8/day parking fee, but they waived it for us at check-in- not sure why, but yay! This is not walking distance, but there is a shuttle for a fee. Our experience with the shuttle was not good. It was $10/day for our family of 5 but when we left the park after the fireworks we had to wait an hour for a shuttle that had room and it was kind of a "Lord of the Flies" experience to even get on that one (granted this was Easter week and parks were busy). We will drive and park if we get that hotel again.

We decided to stay another day, so tried Priceline again hoping we'd get the same hotel. This time we bid $60/night and got the Doubletree Orange County. Rooms were pretty nice. There was a $11/day parking fee. This is right off the interstate...too far to walk but they have a FREE shuttle. We had a great experience with this shuttle..it was a bigger bus and we had no problems at all. The driver also told us if he has to leave people behind after fireworks he will come right back...said he can be back in 15 minutes. But we got on no problem.

Previously we always stayed at Park Vue...which we love, but their rates were $153 that week. We are now probably only going to do Priceline...we stayed 3 nights at the other places for what would have been just 1 night at PVI.

Now, things to know... Priceline only guarantees a room for 2 people. So, you will need to call the hotel about 24 hrs after making reservation and request 2 beds, if you need them. Also, most 3.5 star hotels are going to be out of walking distance and will also charge parking fees, so figure with taxes and parking, you will actually pay about $20 more than your bid per night. (Doubletree is technically not in Anaheim and their taxes were only 10%- most in the area are 18%!) Also, the more upscale hotels charge for wi-fi. Both of these hotels charged $12/day per device, which is crazy and not worth it for us. But, we were SO happy with the overall value we got, and will do it again!

Also wanted to add: both these hotels are in the Anaheim South zone on Priceline- I'm not sure there are any 3.5 stars in the North zone (which includes those across the street from parks)

 

[Rainasunshine]

I've used Expedia and kayak and have found that they were cheaper and didn't hide the hotels as much. They have good rates and since you can see the hotel you can look them up. Check their reviews and their own personal web page. And they have little maps that will show you were the hotel is in relation to the park. You can also use www.bookingbuddy.com to compare Pricline with Expedia and pretty much hundreds of travel sites. But bookingbuddy will only pull up what is most relevant and a good price for you.

The prices for any of these sites will change within hours so if you see something you have to have get it it can be 295 for 5 nights then you check the next day and it is 355. It is just a game of chances. If not make sure you can refund it.

I hope this helped at all

 

[azdoughboy]

I've used Priceline/Hotwire no fewer than a dozen times in the past 2 years for Disneyland. I HIGHLY recommend it. However, this is coming from a young couple with no kids. You'll likely get the basic accommodations, and we once had the room straight across from the elevators. Hard to argue when you pay half what the family next door did though.

Examples recently...

Red Lion $50/night
Anaheim Hilton $63/night
Crowne Plaza Anaheim $58, $63, $53/night (multiple stays)
Ayres Inn $50/night, $72/night
Hyatt Regency OC $80/night

Have been pleased every time, period. Use the Priceline Trick and you'll never do it different.


BC

 

[disneydreamer74]

I have used Priceline/Hotwire many times over the years for travel all over the U.S. We typically use a priceline hotel for our first night in Anaheim (travel day). Then we choose FFI on Harbor for the convenience of location. This past Jan. We bid on a 3.5 star hotel (priceline) in the South region and got Doubletree Orange. While I was not crazy about Doubletree because the beds were hard as cement, there were other amenities offered that I did like (free shuttle, nice bathrooms). I paid $50 for this hotel. I have had Hyatt Regency a few years ago for $45/night, but this was right before the renovations. I REALLY liked our stay at that hotel! I will bid on a travel night hotel for our upcoming August trip also. It saves us about $100 on our trip.

 

[Dexican]

Any hotels on Priceline within walking distance to DLR besides Red Lion?

 

[EKW]

Thank you so much for the honest and very helpful information! I was afraid everyone would tell me that they bid $50 and ended up at the Super 8, lol!

Yesterday I found airfare for a very reasonable price...if we fly into LAX from CO Springs. Yes, that's silly when we live north of Denver, but the prices on Frontier were $110 cheaper for each round-trip ticket than Southwest's best price. (Their flights are Denver to John Wayne) In fact, with gas prices being what they are, it might cost less to fly than drive if I can take advantage of this sale!

Thank you all for sharing!

 

[DSNY4ever]

What I am looking for is first-person experience using the sites. It would be very helpful to know what others bid and what hotels accepted those prices.

That is exactly what Betterbidding.com is- did you check out their site after Skiingfast recommended it? I am actually amazed that forum isn't always full of Disers.

Make sure you read and understand everything that site offers because it is an incredible tool for Hotwire and Priceline. Don't ever book without checking there first.

You can see all the hotels that participate and their star ranges so that you know which hotels you might end up with, and you can see all the hotels that have recently accepted bids and what price they got the room for. With the Hotwire information you can generally figure out what each hotel is (or narrow it down) so you know what you will get. Just keep in mind it doesn't include parking fees or resort fees, but you still usually get a dirt cheap price so it's still usually a remarkable deal.

There is even a tool where you can look at historical bids by checking the calendar for the dates you want and see what people got last year during those same dates to help you bid properly.

I have gotten many amazing San Diego deals with their help and I just got the Red Lion in Anaheim for $50.

Good luck and make sure you use the links on their site to help support them because it is a very informative site.

Lastminutetravel.com is another good just general booking site that has "hidden" hotels but you can see pictures so you can always figure it out, haha. But they have good deals sometimes.

 

[Karenann*]

We are going 7/31to 8/7. How far in advance do you usually bid?

 

[Karenann*]

We are going 7/31to 8/7. How far in advance do you usually bid?

 

[DSNY4ever]

We are going 7/31to 8/7. How far in advance do you usually bid?

It really depends because sometimes when you book earlier there are more options (especially with Hotwire), and sometimes if you wait too long hotels have filled up enough to feel comfortable with their bookings and they pull out, or if they all fill up on Priceline then no one accepts your bid (or you have to end up bidding pretty high). But on the other hand sometimes at the last minute good hotels will jump on there to fill up their final rooms. So you never know, but generally it is good to start looking as soon as you have your dates finalized and jump on a good deal if you see one. Usually earlier is better.

If you are going to do Hotwire, with Betterbidding you can usually figure out which hotel you are going to get (so do a little searching and see if the price is right for you). On Priceline it helps if you check out which hotels people have been winning so you can see who is biting. You can also compare to which hotels are listed on Hotwire at the time because a lot of those are the same ones that will bite on Priceline (but not always). When I bid for the Red Lion I could "see" that it was going for $58 on Hotwire (which was the lowest 3.5 star price listed on Hotwire at the time) and so by bidding For Disneyland South $50 on Priceline, I knew if any were going to bite it would be the Red Lion first.

Be careful...it's addicting and you might get greedy like me!

 

[Dexican]

I'm going in June is it better to bid now or closer to time?

 

[skiingfast]

I'm going in June is it better to bid now or closer to time?

Now, this will give you plenty of second chances if your bid isn't accepted.

If you wait until last minute you may still get a second rate, or nothing.

 

[disneydreamer74]

I agree with skiingfast, book your hotel as soon as possible. If you are looking for a hotel in June, you cannot wait too close to your arrival date. This is likely because the demand for rooms is so high in the summer so most hotels don't have to use PL to book rooms. I made that mistake one summer and had to book through Hotwire, I ended up with Hotel Menage ( which I did not like- but is was for 1 night so..). Good luck with your bid!